Actua Pool

Last updated
Actua Pool
Actua Pool.jpg
2007 Nintendo DS cover
Developer(s) Gremlin Interactive
Mirage Ltd (additional physics, UK)
FrontLine Studios (DS)
Publisher(s) PlayStation/Windows
Gremlin Interactive (EU)
THQ (NA)
Nintendo DS
Zoo Digital Publishing (EU)
UFO Interactive Games (NA)
Series Actua Sports
Platform(s) PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS
ReleasePlayStation
  • EU: January 1999 (PS)
  • NA: June 17, 1999 [1]
Windows
Nintendo DS
  • AU: January 1, 2007
  • EU: February 2, 2007
Underground Pool
  • NA: January 26, 2007
  • EU: July 27, 2007
Genre(s) Sports (pocket billiards)
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Actua Pool also known as Ultimate 8-Ball (depending on platform and market) is a sports simulation video game developed by British companies Gremlin Interactive and Mirage Ltd as part of their highly successful Actua Sports series of sport simulators of the mid-to-late 1990s. Actua Pool, a pool game (pocket billiards), was originally released on the Microsoft Windows platform and the Sony PlayStation home console in 1999; these versions were also published under the name Pool Shark. The game was very well received, praised for its realistic physics engine and challenging AI opponents, although the game spawned a sequel which was not as successful. In 2007, Actua Pool was ported to the Nintendo DS handheld game console.

Contents

Description

Actua Pool is a pool simulation game with dozens of game modes, including eight-ball, nine-ball, three-ball, ten-ball, killer rules, cutthroat rules, bank rules, speed pool, one-pocket, various foreign styles and traditional snooker rules. There are dozens of venues, unique individual opponents and even different-shaped and unique tables are also available to unlock.

In one player mode, called "Hustle Mode", the character must hustle their way through smoke filled bars, casinos, pool halls and nightclubs and aim to black ball up to 18 challengers of ever-increasing skill across a range of challenging tables. There is an interactive tutorial if the player wishes, and the player can learn hundreds of trick shots from the tutorial. Each individual NPC opponent has its own unique appearance, voice, mannerisms, playing style and difficulty, and winning tournaments unlocks new NPCs to play against and venues to play in. The last opponent is the Devil himself, who is played against in Hell on his very own pool table and gamble for the player character's soul.

There are also the traditional two-player modes, as well as three-player, four-player, and so on. Any number of players can join in, and tournaments for up to 16 players are also available in which the NPC's can also be included. Player characters are completely customizable, and stats (such as accuracy and shots potted) tally up an individual player's ability.

Venues and opponents

Reception

The PC and PlayStation versions received mixed or average reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. [3] [4] The graphics of the game were generally considered impressive at the time of release, and the game physics engine was praised as very realistic, and the AI fairly advanced for a pool game. [20]

Next Generation said that the PC version can be played on a LAN or via the Internet, also saying that game has a minor issues with LAN lag and modem speed. [16]

Legacy

In 2003 Actua Pool was re-released for Windows and PlayStation by Zoo Digital Publishing under their "Zoo Classics" label.

In 2007, U Wish Games released another updated version for PCs.

In 2007, the game was re-developed with enhanced graphics by Frontline Studios, published by Zoo Digital Publishing and UFO Interactive Games and ported to Nintendo DS. This version is known as Underground Pool in North America, and also known as Power Play Pool in Europe.

Reception

The DS version enjoyed good sales, but was not as well received critically as the original game, as the former received "unfavorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [21] It has been noted that the uniqueness of individual opponents has been lost in this version, as are all the different variations of rules available, as there are only two different games in the Nintendo DS version whereas the original had dozens. [28]

Sequel

A sequel was released in 2004 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox entitled Pool Shark 2. It was developed by Blade Interactive and published by Zoo Digital Publishing. The "Actua" title was not included as the Actua Sports series had become defunct some years previously, as had the original developers Gremlin Interactive, and therefore Pool Shark 2 is not actually part of the same series of the original. Although Pool Shark 2 had better graphics than Actua Pool due to the advances in game technology, the sequel was not as critically well received as the original, and did not enjoy good sales like its predecessor.

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References

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  3. 1 2 "Ultimate 8 Ball for PC". GameRankings . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Ultimate 8 Ball for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
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  8. ↑ Abner, William (July 16, 1999). "Ultimate 8 Ball". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on July 10, 2003. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  9. ↑ Lackey, Jeff (October 1999). "Hustler's Paradise (Ultimate 8 Ball Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World . No. 183. Ziff Davis. p. 180. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  10. ↑ Helgeson, Matt (July 1999). "Ultimate 8 Ball (PS)". Game Informer . No. 75. FuncoLand. p. 63. Archived from the original on May 27, 2000. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  11. ↑ Bad Hare (September 1999). "Ultimate 8 Ball (PS)". GamePro . No. 132. IDG Entertainment. p. 136. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
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  13. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (June 22, 1999) [date mislabeled as "May 2, 2000"]. "Ultimate 8 Ball Review (PS)". GameSpot . CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  14. ↑ Ward, Trent C. (July 14, 1999). "Ultimate 8 Ball (PC)". IGN . Ziff Davis. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  15. ↑ Perry, Douglass C. (June 21, 1999). "Ultimate 8 Ball (PS)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  16. 1 2 "Ultimate 8 Ball (PC)". Next Generation . No. 56. Imagine Media. August 1999. p. 93. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
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  20. ↑ "Actua Pool (PC)". Ciao. Archived from the original on May 16, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  21. 1 2 "Underground Pool for DS Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  22. ↑ Wöbbeking, Jan (February 28, 2007). "Test: Actua Pool". 4Players (in German). Computec . Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  23. ↑ Navarro, Alex (February 2, 2007). "Underground Pool Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  24. ↑ Romano, Natalie (January 25, 2007). "Underground Pool - NDS - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on September 28, 2008. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
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  26. ↑ "Review: Actua Pool". NGamer . Future plc. April 2007. p. 70.
  27. ↑ Rositano, Joseph (March 26, 2007). "Actua Pool Review". PALGN. Archived from the original on May 5, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  28. ↑ Hardy, Dominick (2007). "Actua Pool (Nintendo DS)". AceGamez. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
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